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ROME — A group of Catholic and Anglican theologians has publicly called on the Vatican to review and overturn a papal document from 1896 that declared Anglican ordinations “absolutely null and utterly void.” “Where we once walked apart, we now walk together in friendship and love,” wrote members of the Malines Conversations Group after tracing the history of ecumenical agreements between the Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion and, especially, reviewing examples of collaboration and gestures of recognition. The judgment made by Pope Leo XIII in his apostolic letter “Apostolicae Curae” in 1896 “does not accord with the reality into...

Ecumenism is not really a union of religions. It is the union of non-doctrinal sentimentalists within various religions, whose principle of unity is A.B.T.D. (Anything But True Doctrine). Presently, the most visible case-in-point of A.B.T.D. activity is the highly publicized meeting between Pope Francis and Orthodox Patriarch Kirill of Moscow. The encounter occurred at Havana's Jose Marti International Airport on February 12, a brief stopover prior to the Pope's trip to Mexico. Francis, following the A.B.T.D. principle of unity that emanates from Vatican II, has no intention of calling the Orthodox to "formal corporate reunion"[1] based on the perennial doctrine...

"I feel like saying something that may sound controversial or even heretical. But there is someone who knows that despite our differences we are one. It is he who is persecuting us. It is he that is persecuting Christians today; he who is anointing us with the blood of martyrdom, knows that Christians are disciples of Christ. That we are one, that we are brothers! He doesn't care if they are Evangelicals, Orthodox, Lutherans, Catholics or Apostolic. He doesn't care! They are Christians."

IS THE NEW CATHEDRAL TO PADRE PIO IN SAN GIOVANNI ROTONDO ACTUALLY A "MASONIC TEMPLE"? I have just received and am in the process of studying a special issue, #381 (March 2006), of the Italian religious magazine “CHIESA VIVA”. It is my understanding that in March 2006 this special issue was sent by the publisher/editor of “Chiesa Viva”, Dr. Monsignor Luigi Villa, to Catholic & 'catholic' priests, Bishops, Cardinals, as well as a selected group of Italian lay persons including members of the judiciary. This entire special issue deals with only one subject, that being the inauguration in July 2004...

Jesus prayed “that they may all be one; even as Thou, Father, art in Me, and I in Thee, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that Thou has sent Me.” The Second Vatican Council’s Decree on Ecumenism, Unitatis Redintegratio, sets forth principles for the way in which the Church is striving to answer the prayer of Jesus that all may be one.

Archdiocesan priest named first Catholic president of Church Federation By Sean Gallagher Father John Beitans, pastor of St. Lawrence Parish in Indianapolis, will become the first Catholic president of the Church Federation of Greater Indianapo-lis on Jan. 1. In an interview prior to the Dec. 14 announcement, Rev. Dr. Angelique Walker-Smith, executive director of the 92-year-old ecumenical organization, praised Father Beitans’ qualifications. Father Beitans has been active on the Church Federation’s board of directors. St. Lawrence Parish is the host of a center for Loaves and Fishes, a Church Federation project aiding families that are at risk of dropping into...

November 28, 2004 A Matter of Attitude by Thomas A. DroleskeyThe press of a busy schedule prevents me from doing the amount of writing I once did. This first full day of Advent, however, has afforded me an opportunity to spend a little time in writing. And while I find it to be of little moment to comment on the follies emanating from Rome, a Zenit dispatch containing remarks about the state of "ecumenism" made by Edward Cardinal Cassidy, the former President of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, call for a bit of response. Most of the...

The Army announced this week that Protestant and Roman Catholic chaplains will be brought together in a single, ecumenical chaplaincy department. Since 1920, the Royal Army Chaplains’ Department has been divided into two branches, the Roman Catholic and the “Unified” (representing Anglicans, Methodists, Baptists and other denominations), each with its own head. The new arrangement means there will be a single head of service, known as the Chaplain-General, for both Catholics and Protestants. The next Pope must give greater authority to Roman Catholic bishops, Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor has said. Speaking at an ecumenical forum, the Archbishop of Westminster suggested that...

The Catholic Church has issued a message to Hindus, wishing them a happy Diwali, the Festival of Lights, one of the oldest and most important feasts on the Hindu calendar. Echoing the theme of a message to Muslims last week, which marked the approaching end of the Holy Month of Ramadan, the message to Hindus focused on children. It was issued by President of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, Archbishop Michael Fitzgerald, who called for collaboration among people of different faiths in protecting children. "During this season of Diwali, as you strive to overcome darkness through light, evil through...

On October 4, 2004, the Feast Day of St. Francis of Assisi, Mexico City’s National Cathedral hosted an “interfaith religious service,” a gathering of religious leaders representing, in addition to the Catholic Church, Anglican, Greek Orthodox, Presbyterian, Lutheran and Mormon denominations, as well as Mexico's Hindu and Sufi Islamic communities. According to the Catholic News Service, “The Dalai Lama joined Mexico City Cardinal Norberto Rivera Carrera and other Mexican religious leaders in prayers for world peace while calling for mutual understanding among the world's religions.” Tenzing Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama, spiritual head of Tibetan Buddhism and a true celebrity...

Nicky Gumbel joins Romano Prodi, the Queen of Belgium and 55 Catholic bishops at conference in Stuttgart August 2004 Alpha Speaker Nicky Gumbel spoke about the impact of the Alpha course to 10,000 people attending a major interdenominational conference held in Stuttgart, Germany, in May. Other speakers at the 'Together For Europe' event, which was watched live via satellite by around 100,000 people attending linked events in other European cities, included Romano Prodi, President of the European Commission, and Cardinal Kasper, President of the Pontifical Council for Christian Unity. Among those present were 55 Catholic bishops and cardinals, as well...

TOULON, France (Reuters) - The French law meant to banish Muslim headscarves from state schools is finding unexpected targets in southern France, where some principals have begun turning away Roman Catholic chaplains. Five priests have been barred from state schools in the Var region despite the fact that French law has long allowed them entry to meet Catholic pupils there, according to the local diocesan spokesman Father Charles Mallard. One school in this Mediterranean port city barred a priest this week because he was wearing a cassock, the traditional black robe he wore last year without problem before the new...

Leaders of the Roman Catholic Church from across Europe said a meeting with the Archbishop of Canterbury today about bringing Christians closer together was “very fruitful”. Archbishop Dr Rowan Williams was guest at a meeting in Leeds of the Council of European Bishops’ Conferences (CCEE). Dr Williams addressed the gathering of Catholic leaders from 34 European countries, which included 10 cardinals, as they discussed issues including the relationship between the Church and the European Union as well as ecumenical matters. At a press conference after this morning’s session, the Archbishop of Westminster, Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor, said: “I was very happy...

My friend Jan was not convinced that the latest papal apology for the Inquisition (see last article) was really so harmful to the Church. “Even if the Inquisition was not as bad as historians have portrayed it, there were still some abuses. Doesn’t it show humility and honesty on the part of the Pope to ask pardon for the wrong things the Church may have done?” Jan argued. “Doesn’t it set a good example for us, since that’s what we teach our children to do – apologize when we do something wrong?” JPII at a Request for Pardon religious service...

  17 September 2004Pre-empting the Buddhists in the sanctuaryby Scott Noto In late autumn 2001, the restoration of the Basilica of St. Adalbert began. Located in Grand Rapids, Michigan, the grand church dates back to 1907, constructed in the heart of a thriving Polish neighborhood on the city’s west side—an area that once teemed with so many Catholics that two other churches are located within a few blocks of the basilica. Today, that area is fondly known as "Steepletown." St. Adalbert’s was raised to the status of basilica in 1979 by Pope John Paul II, the only church in...

So, the Icon of Kazan — or one of many copies of it — has been returned to Moscow as an "ecumenical" gesture, and the results for Christian unity, quite predictably, are these: nothing and none. As CWNews reported on August 30, 2004: "As a Vatican delegation restored a precious icon to the Russian Orthodox Church, in a heavily anticipated August 28 ceremony, the Holy See emphasized the importance of the gesture, while the Russian Patriarchate downplayed it." Did this surprise anyone? In his message accompanying the Icon, the Pope insisted that "this sacred icon appears as a symbol of...

Spiritual Guidance Training Program uses creation-centered approach By Denise Konkol Special to the Catholic Herald RACINE — For many Catholics, the terms “New Cosmology,” “Feminist Theology,” and “Enneagram Spirituality” may seem foreign, distant, and, well, not very Catholic. However, these concepts are just what other Catholics seek to understand while attending the Spiritual Guidance Training Program at the Siena Center in Racine. In the process of instructing its second class, and anticipating its third to begin in January of 2005, the Siena Center has offered the two-year program since January of 2001. Each class is limited to 28 students, and...

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REMNANT NEWS: Today, Tuesday, August 10, 2004 a judge of the 61st Judicial District vacated a default judgment obtained by a Buddhist group against Fr. Michael McMahon and St. Margaret Mary Church. The court’s order allows the case to proceed to trial. The case arises from the widely reported incident in which a group of Buddhists appeared at the Basilica of St. Adalbert in Grand Rapids, Michigan, to conduct a Buddhist ritual and/or concert. Fr. McMahon and a group of Catholics prayed the rosary in the basilica, and the Buddhists decided to leave. The default judgment for $316. against Fr....

CARDINAL TAURAN: WARFARE DOES NOT PREVENT REFLECTION DOHA (QATAR) MAY 27, 2004 (VIS) - Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, librarian and archivist of Holy Roman Church and former Secretary for Relations with States, was one of the principal speakers this morning at the first public session of the Qatar Conference on Muslim-Christian Dialogue, being held in the capital of Doha from May 27 to 29. The conference was organized by the Pontifical Commission for Religious Relations with Muslims and the Gulf Studies Center of Qatar University. Archbishop Michael Fitzgerald, president of the Pontifical Commission, addressed words of welcome to the invited guests....